Making an impact - How to come up with Creative ideas

January 30th 2023 By Hannah Harrisson 3 minute read


PR and marketing are essential parts of any business but with so much competition for attention it can be a challenge to come up with creative ideas that will help you stand out from the crowd. 

Whether it’s attempting to reach new audiences or helping to spread your brand's message to an existing crowd, a creative idea can be the breakthrough that’s needed – creating a decent news hook that’s of interest to press and your customers, and one that will, ultimately, drive new business. 

It’s all well and good saying ‘creative idea’, but where do you start when you need to come up with one? Here are five ways to help try and get the creative juices flowing… 

Connect with your audience

First of all, and most importantly you need to think about who your audience is. Who are you trying to reach? What kind of message will resonate with them? How do you connect with them? Understanding your target audience will help you shape ideas that can be tailored to suit their needs and interests. There’s no point doing a laddish PR stunt about football if you’re a lady’s lifestyle brand, for instance.

Identify the goal  

You’ll want to consider what kind of message you’re hoping to deliver. What is the goal of your PR campaign? Is it simply to build brand awareness? To drive active engagement? Or to get people consciously talking about your brand? PR can achieve all of these, but whether it does or not depends on delivery. Once you’ve identified your goal, you can start to brainstorm ideas that will help you achieve it: anything from creating an outrageous PR stunt to a funny video for your social channels, to writing an informative, interesting blog that delivers new insights. For the most exciting campaigns though, you need to think outside the box. The only thing that will get people talking is something different and something that stands out – and that doesn’t happen with the run of the mill stuff. 

Use your team 

Two brains are better than one – as are five, as are ten, as are twenty. Although it’s often the case that too many cooks spoil the broth, using your hive mind can get better results than limiting it to just one or two bods – and this is one of the major benefits of using an agency’s services. Different perspectives and different life experiences can generate a new avenue of approach. Brainstorming sessions, for instance, can help you and your team bounce ideas off each other. And remember – there’s no such thing as a bad idea! Sometimes the most controversial end up being the most interesting – and even the ‘boring’ stuff can spark other ideas that snowball into something of interest.

Take inspiration

What’s going on in the world at the moment that your brand can relate to? Using current affairs for inspiration is a great way of ensuring relevance and creating something of interest to your audience. Be that things in the news you can jump on, awareness days, upcoming events, and more. Consider what marketing campaigns have really stood out for you in the past and left a lasting impression. Look up brand campaigns that have succeeded in the past and see if you can put a new spin on things and emulate their success. Following brands and people that inspire you, will help to get those ideas flowing. 

Choose your platforms 

Identifying the best way to spread your message can help to shape the kind of idea you come up with. The platform(s) you use to get your message out there is important to ensure it’s reaching the right people, at the right time and at the right place. But it also dictates delivery. PR ideas, for instance, need to have a news hook that journalists will like, otherwise they simply won’t cover it. Social content or website content on the other hand, needs to fit with your brand – but you’re not beholden to anyone else to get it published. The beauty of owned content is that, within reason, you can put what you like out. Just make sure it does your brand justice – and isn’t too controversial. You don’t want a Ratner moment after all.

Making an impact with PR and wider marketing can be challenging. But by staying relevant, being consistent and taking advantage of multiple minds, you can ensure that your message will have a greater chance of making an impact and getting in front of the eyeballs that matter for your business success.

If you want to discuss some creative tactics. Get in touch with us and let us help you make an impact with some creative PR ideas – it’s what we do best!
 

Related Articles